• CON

    Whereas men have more accessability to such treatment....

    Feminism fights to harm men.

    Rebuttal to Opening Argument: To begin, I would just like to note that Pro's opening statement is practically a concession. By stating that the resolution is 'Feminism fights to harm men', then saying that you are only arguing against radicalism within the ideology, instead of the ideology itself, it a concession. Also, by only limiting their arguments to the western world, it is again a concession. The resolution is 'Feminism fights to harm men', not 'Radical misandry fights to harm men in the West'. However, I will still continue with my arguments. I. My opponent says that today's society is feminist, when it clearly isn't. The definition of feminism, as provided in my opening argument, is the abolition of patriarchy in favor of gender equality. Even if we were living within a female privileged society, it wouldn't be feminist. Since there is simply a new hierarchy that would've been established (matriarchy) instead of gender equality. II. My opponent bases his first point on an unsourceable event. Saying that you have been the 'victim' of feminists, then speaking about such event isn't a legitimate source. It is completely biased by your view of the event. Even then, these people you speak of aren't exactly the most prominent theorists within feminism. III. My opponent stereotypes that all feminists 'assume that men are predators'. This is a complete association fallacy, just because some feminists have a certain radical quality (misandry) doesn't mean that all feminists have a radical quality (misandry). IV. My opponent did not provide a source to back up point 3. V. There is evidence that shows that the number of women incarcerated has actually increased. The number of incarcerate women has increased fivefold from 2001, partially due to lack of treatment for women who violate laws. Whereas men have more accessability to such treatment.[1][2] VI. Solanas was both mentally insane, and highly criticized by fellow feminists. Solanas suffered physical and sexual abuse from both her father and grandfather[3][4], and would later in life be diagnosed with schizophrenia and be sent to a psychiatric hospital. Betty Friedan, who is noted as writing the famous book, The Feminist Mystique, said that Solanas' views were far too radical and polarizing.[5] VII. The Violence Against Women Act does not imply such by title. The Violence Against Women Act, by title, implies that women have been the main target of domestic violence historically. Women have only started to be seen as actual human beings with feelings rather than just house-keepers since the end of the Victorian Era. Which has been roughly 100 years. Pro also did not provide a source for point 6. VIII. Many of men's problems, such as homicide, are not caused by class struggle within a gender context. The statistics my opponent has mentioned are not directly caused by patriarchy, so why should strict (meaning they only adhere to this one ideology, that being feminism) feminists deal with such an issue? Are some of the numbers involved in those statistics caused by patriarchy, yes. However, saying that they don't care about men because their ideology isn't able to deal with every problem is baseless. However, most of those numbers were caused by different struggles within society, such as poverty. IX. Male rapes are also the result of patriarchy. Male-male rape usually occurs when one male either a) fails to meet the standards that the male gender has set upon them, and are seen as 'weak' and are more likely to be raped, or b) is seen as a means of achieving sexual satisfaction in a place (such as prison) devoid of females (which by many men can be seen as sex objects) and are used as a substitution. Male rape commited by females also occurs due to patriarchy, since males have to meet a standard of 'becoming a man' and are sexually assaulted by women who seek to gain sex out of such under this guise. This itself can actually cause some men to grow up hating women. Many feminist articles have been published in favor of ending male rape and female rape. Even then, it doesn't matter who gets raped more. Feminism is about trying to end patriarchial culture that harms both women and men. What feminists argue for is to stop rape and rape culture in general. X. The last few paragraphs provided by my opponent were just a copy/paste job.[6] Rebuttal to Second Argument: My opponent starts by reposting some of which they already posted in the first argument, please see above for my rebuttals to such. I. A dictionary definition cannot be 'tainted'. The radical feminists you mention are only more 'popular' since media can make more money by creating a story that is completely out of proportion and spread dishonest information than by telling the truth. Ideological definitions don't just 'change', anyone who is a misandrist or believes in feminine supremacy isn't a feminist by the definition I provided, since they obviously don't support gender equality. Also, your 'proof' doesn't 'defeat' a dictionary definition. Sources: 1- http://en.wikipedia.org... 2- Zaitow, Barbara H. and Jim Thomas. Women in Prison: Gender and Social Control. Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2003 3- http://en.wikipedia.org... 4- Watson, Steven (2003). Factory made: Warhol and the sixties (1st ed.). New York: Pantheon Books. pp. 35–36 5- http://en.wikipedia.org... 6- http://anti-feminism-pro-equality.tumblr.com...